It’s appropriate that a couple of “mmm ... toasty” signs still hang at 1475 Lawrence Court. If Sueann Ambron has her way, the downtown Denver building that once housed the headquarters of the Quiznos’ restaurant franchise company soon will become a hot spot for business education and networking.

Ambron, dean of the University of Colorado at Denver Business School, has big plans for the structure, envisioning it as the crown jewel of what she’s calling Denver’s business education “corridor” linking Denver’s central business district and the Auraria Higher Education Center.

The corridor stretches from the Auraria Campus north to the 16th Street Mall, where business executives could ride the shuttle bus to the Lawrence Street stop, hop off and walk down to the business school’s new home to address a classroom.

Professional associations could meet there. About 3,000 students daily would visit the six-story, 100,000-square-foot building, which is expected to be ready for the 2010-2011 academic year.

And perhaps best of all, it would consolidate a school that’s currently spread around nine locations, including the nearby Dravo Building and the Lawrence Street Center, a 14-story building that once housed Clear Channel radio stations.

“It’ll be a powerhouse of business,” said Ambron, who has been the dean for nine years. “I’m excited for what it can do for Denver. We’re located in the heart of the business community; that’s a pretty big statement right there.

“We want to be available for businesses to participate in our programs, be engaged with our students and faculty, start businesses, and be much better able in an accessible location downtown, to do research projects for companies.

“We’ll probably be the most engaged business school in the country.”

UCD spent $24 million to buy the building, which opened in 1985 and previously housed the Quiznos franchise headquarters on four floors and American Food Distributors LLC. Legally, the building can top out at 10 stories.

“If you need to find your professor, you don’t have to run across nine locations,” said Matt Wasserman, senior director of development for the University of Colorado Foundation.

Now comes the hard part: raising $15 million to renovate the building, plus another $5 million to enhance existing spaces. UCD has assembled heavy hitters to accomplish the task.

“I think it’s great for the university and the city,” Hickenlooper said. “ ... The city does better if you have a robust business school. You’re providing civic leadership and business success in your community.

Will it be difficult to raise $15 million in the current economic environment?

“There’s never a good time to go out and raise a bunch of money,” the mayor said. “But that’s part of what the world requires. Our job is to go out and make sure that we leave no stone unturned. There’s a lot of people who have been very successful, even in this economy. They haven’t had significant setbacks, and they care about education. Our job is to find those people.”

UCD can tap the approximately 18,000 school graduates who live in the Denver metro area for donations, as well as call upon foundations and families. If a big donor emerges, UCD would sell naming rights to the school or the building.

UCD plans to knock down walls, pop ceilings, and extend the width and length of the lobby — from which students can see the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences, and perhaps aspire to do well enough in business to afford to live there.

Denver firm RNL has carefully designed every inch, making room for classes, office space, a cafe to replace the former Quiznos tasting area, informal meeting spaces and more. UCD also will imbue green practices and sustainability, seeking LEED Gold accreditation.

Outdoor decks make great spots for receptions, reflection, study and interviews. The sixth-floor deck — which offers a view of the Pepsi Center, Invesco Field at Mile High and Elitch’s — could serve as inspiration for students enrolled in the Sports and Entertainment Management Track under the MBA program.

A three-story atrium (say goodbye to the large water fountain outside, and eventually, the 5 Degrees restaurant) would start in the lobby.

Plans for the second floor include an Innovation Center and the Richard H. and Pamela S. Bard Center for Entrepreneurship, which incubates four or five companies at a time.

The Innovation Center would house the aforementioned sports and entertainment program as well as other special curriculums: Managing for Sustainability, which offers an MBA of master’s of science degree in management; and Global Energy Management, with a master’s of science degree.

“Energy companies came to us and said our top management is going to retire,” Ambron said of the latter program. “We need new leaders, and we need a program to train leaders.”

Those are all relatively young programs; the Health Administration regimen has been around for 35 years.

The business school’s enrollment includes 1,200 graduate students, many of whom are in their late 20s or 30s, and 1,400 undergrads.

Part of the fourth floor would include the Graduate Career Connection Center, where companies would make presentations and meet possible hires, and current and past students could seek employment and conduct practice interviews.

The administration would take some of the sixth floor, which also would have faculty offices and a community space dubbed the “Knowledge Exchange.”

Ambron predicts changes in how business schools teach ethics, given the many business scandals of the past 10-15 years.

“There’ll be a lot more focus on social responsibility, on making sure business grads are tied into their communities and very aware of the decisions they make and the implications of those decisions,” she said.

And UCD plans to do its part.

“Imagine a building where the president of MolsonCoors could walk one block and talk to students about branding MolsonCoors,” Ambron said. “It’s unbelievably accessible to everyone.